"Why should we have a navy at all? There are no enemies for it to fight except apparently the Army Air Force."- General Carl Spaatz, Commander of the US 8th Army Air Force, after WWII

No other aircraft of WWII could fly as high, go as far, or fight as hard as the famed Mustang. Piloted by a record 281 Aces, this agile and ferocious dogfighter tallied more kills than any other Allied airplane. As the bombers of the Eighth Air Force fought their way deep into Hitler's Germany, it was the Mustang that cleared the skies of Luftwaffe fighters. The powerful Rolls-Royce Merlin engine gave the Mustang a speed of 445 mph. Re-styled with an aerodynamic bubble canopy for greater visibility, and outfitted with 6 fast-firing .50 caliber machine guns, the P-51 became the best fighter of the war.

Pictured here is a signed 1:48 scale replica of a USAAF P-51D Mustang that was nicknamed 'Detroit Miss,' and piloted by Ft. Lieutenant Urban Drew, who was attached to the 361st Fighter Group, then deployed to France during 1944. Only 500 pieces produced.
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Dimensions:
Wingspan: 7.5-inches
Length: 8.5-inches

Release Date: September 2012

Historical Account: "Detroit Miss" - Urban L. Drew was born in Detroit, Michigan on March 21st, 1924. He entered the USAAF in October 1942 and graduated in Class 43-I from Marian, Florida. Lieutenant Drew was assigned to the replacement base at Bartow, Florida and after completion of the course he was retained as an instructor in P-51s. In May 1944 he was given an overseas assignment, sailing the Queen Elizabeth for England. Drew was assigned to the 375th Fighter Squadron, 361st Fighter Group based at Bottisham, Cambridgeshire. Later the group moved to Little Walden, Essex. During his tour with the Yellowjackets, Drew completed 75 missions, rising to command of A Flight and the 375th Squadron. Among his victories, most notable were the two Messerschmitt 262s on October 7th, 1944. This combat made Ben Drew the first Allied airman to destroy two German jets in aerial combat, and years later he received the Air Force Cross for the event. Also, with two wingman, he destroyed the only Luftwaffe six-engine flying boat at Bug Seaplane Base in Northern Germany. At the completion of his ETO tour, Drew was transferred to various training bases in the U.S.

In 1945, he was assigned to the 413th Squadron, 414th Fighter Group, flying P-47s at Iwo Jima in the Bonin Islands. After the war Drew helped organize the 127th Fighter Group, Michigan Air National Guard. He became deputy group commander and later was appointed the first Air Adjutant General of the State of Michigan. He completed his military service with the rank of major and established an aviation business in Britain and South Africa.